A few snippets from Scripture on the subject of salvation . . . To be saved, we need to: Hear the gospel (Romans 10:14) Understand the gospel (Acts 28:27) Believe the gospel (Hebrews 11:6) Response of belief: Repentance (Luke 15:7) Burial in water (baptism) symbolising death to serving sin (Romans 6:4) Rising to a new [...][Continue Reading...]

In Matthew 13:1o Jesus’ disciples ask him why he taught in parables. Jesus replied, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven…’ (Mat. 13:11). Here Jesus is referring to his disciples, i.e. the people who followed him and learned from him: these people, his disciples, were the ones who [...][Continue Reading...]

Yes. When someone becomes a Christian they still face difficulties and temptations like they did before they were a Christian. James, who was writing to Christians, makes it plain that they were still going to face temptations: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be [...][Continue Reading...]

We don’t know if Adam was present when the serpent spoke to her. However, we do know that Adam was present when Eve took the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to [...][Continue Reading...]

There are a number of reasons why Christians cannot join the military, a few of which are given below. 1. Although Christians are to be subject the the authority of the governments of the countries they live in (Rom. 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13-14), Christians are ‘strangers and pilgrims’ in this world (Heb. 11:13-14) and have [...][Continue Reading...]

What did Jesus say? The ESV [2001] translates Luke 17:21 in the following way: nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. [a] Or within you, or within your grasp The NIV [NT: 1973] translates the verse like this: nor will [...][Continue Reading...]

We can’t be sure, but it is unlikely that Luke saw Jesus personally. There’s no information in the Bible to suggest that he did. However, every Christian claims to know Jesus personally, to some degree (in fact, knowing God and Jesus is a vital part of a Christian’s life: John 17:3). Obviously, when Jesus returns [...][Continue Reading...]

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. [Heb. 13:4] Marriage is sacred, so we need to respect another couple’s marriage and not interfere with it. If we are married, we also need to respect our own marriage and treat it [...][Continue Reading...]

In the New Testament, which quotes from the Old, God says that Christians should not take vengeance on people who have wronged them: Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” [Rom. 12:19; cf. Deut. 32:35] Vengeance is [...][Continue Reading...]

In Mat. 25:35-36, Jesus, in a parable referring to the future judgement (v31-33), says to the people who will be welcomed into God’s kingdom (v34): …I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I [...][Continue Reading...]